Pakistan to block Indian content on TV, radio as tension simmers

Pakistan will ban all Indian content on television and radio channels from Friday, its media regulator said, stepping up media tit-for-tat bans that followed a spike in tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

The blanket ban drew immediate criticism from viewers and cable operators in Pakistan, a nation of 190 million people where Indian soap operas and Bollywood's elaborate song-and-dance sequences are wildly popular.

Despite being bitter foes, Pakistan and India have deep cultural similarities dating back to before their separation at the end of British colonial rule in 1947.

Tension has been high since an Indian security force crackdown on protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir began in July, following the killing of a young Muslim separatist leader by security forces.

Relations worsened in September, when militants attacked an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir and killed 18 soldiers, a raid India blamed on Pakistan.

Islamabad denied involvement, but the diplomatic fallout and New Delhi's efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally, prompted calls in India for a ban on Pakistani actors and actresses in the country's giant Bollywood film industry.

Pakistani cinemas responded by banning Bollywood films and as the rhetoric against Pakistani actors in Bollywood surged, Pakistan responded by enforcing bans on Indian channels.

The measure goes further than the regulator's crackdown on India media announced this month, which saw some channels such as Star World and Star Sports taken down as PEMRA vowed to enforce an existing law that limits channels to air Indian content for just 86 minutes each day.